depressed
Americanadjective
-
sad and gloomy; dejected; downcast.
- Synonyms:
- morbid, blue, miserable, despondent, morose
- Antonyms:
- happy
-
pressed down, or situated lower than the general surface.
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lowered in force, amount, etc.
-
undergoing economic hardship, especially poverty and unemployment.
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being or measured below the standard or norm.
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Botany, Zoology. flattened down; greater in width than in height.
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Psychiatry. having or experiencing depression.
adjective
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low in spirits; downcast; despondent
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lower than the surrounding surface
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pressed down or flattened
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Also: distressed. characterized by relative economic hardship, such as unemployment
a depressed area
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lowered in force, intensity, or amount
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(of plant parts) flattened as though pressed from above
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zoology flattened from top to bottom
the depressed bill of the spoonbill
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depressed
From a late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at depress, -ed 2
Explanation
When stocks are depressed they are worth less than they should be. When people are depressed they are sad and lack energy. Depressed means down in spirit or value. While you'll often hear people say they are depressed, mostly they mean they are sad. If you are clinically depressed, you have a sadness and hopelessness that has physical effects and no logical reason behind it and you can't seem to shake it either. If someone calls their town or region depressed, they mean that the economy in that area is not good — in that place jobs are hard to find, and have been for quite a while. Sad, right?
Vocabulary lists containing depressed
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Combined, the commitments imply around $28 billion of annual U.S. agricultural exports to China—a sharp recovery from 2025’s depressed level of $8.4 billion, though still broadly in line with historical levels.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Granted, consumer confidence has been depressed for months, and retail spending has held up.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
The 1980s media put a spotlight on a cohort of professionals who were revitalizing depressed urban scenes.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
If Disney had to sell the stations, the price would probably be depressed due to pressure to unload the properties.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
It had big sad eyes and his lips turned down at the corners, like it was a little depressed.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
